Fewer complaints over stench in 2013

Complaints about the odour coming from the Domtar plant are down, but so is the tolerance for any smell.

(JENNIFER STAHN /InfoTel Multimedia)

March 24, 2014 - 4:19 PM

KAMLOOPS — The annual air report from Domtar shows improvements in air quality, though the company is claiming the public tolerance for smell may be getting lower as well.

Overall, complaints in 2013 were 'notably fewer' than the previous two years, which the company attributes to the measurable reductions in total reduced emissions from the high stack. The company says the typical trend is for the number of complaints to increase during the warmer summer months with decreased complaints in cooler weather.

“(There) appears to be a heightened sensitivity by the community to odour,” the report notes, “with an increasing number of complaints occurring when measured ambient levels are very low.”

The air report, which must be submitted by March 1 every year, shows all emissions levels met requirements and several areas even saw the lowest levels measured in recent years.

Reduced sulfur emissions, one of the causes of odour from the plant, were the lowest measured in the past seven years according to the report while the sulfur dioxide emissions, a cause of odour and haze in the city, were consistent with historical levels.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact the managing editor, email Marshall Jones at mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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